Congested 3 years during school season. What's wrong?

[Mickey225]

I'm a 54yo male, my daughter is almost 6. We've both been coughing only after catching a "cold" during school season. The "cold" symptoms usually go away in one to two weeks. The cough last for a few weeks to six months. Often she brings another illness home from school before we get over the previous congestion and it starts all over.

I've had two sputum test the showed nothing. We've both had lung x-rays that were clear, twice each. I've tested negative for "all" allergens, over 90 of them. I've never had any allergies I know of. I had a pertussis test that was positive but neither of us have had the "whoop" sound associated with pertussis, Doctors say it doesn't look like pertussis. I believe one doctor said I could have had pertussis any time in my life and had a positive test for pertussis antibodies. In that case a positive pertussis test doesn't mean anything. We have never had a "whoop" sounding cough. One pertussis antibody just showed a slight elevation on the test.

I've seen several doctors and PA's at the same healthcare center. I have been seeing the same doctor or two as often as possible but it takes two weeks or more to get an appointment with any of the more popular doctors. They have diagnosed us with all sorts of illnesses and allergies, viral, bacterial. Also a combination a viral illness turning into bacterial. Often antibiotics help, 90% of the time. Sometimes they knock it out completely but more often they just clear it up by 80% to 90%. Some doctors will not give antibiotics even though I tell them they help a lot. They have the nerve to look right at me and tell me they think it's a virus and antibiotics won't help. Then another doctor gives us antibiotics and it helps tremendously if not completely knocking it out.

My daughter was only sick twice in her life before she started in early preschool at about 3 years old. Those were short colds and I caught both of them from her. Those were the only two times either of us were sick before she started school in the first three years of her life.  Before that I only had a cold once every several years. Since she's been in school she brings an "illness" home, then I get it several days to two weeks later. I take precautions not catch it but when taking care of a 3-6yo it seems impossible. Eventually she sneezes/coughs in my face or I make some other mistake like drinking from the wrong glass or water bottle.

Antibiotics usually help. We've used a few that work and 2 or 3 that didn't. Sometimes prednisolone helps and sometimes not. We've been congested over 90% of the school season for 3 years now. The only time were not sick at all is after school is out and we've got over the last illness from school. So far we are fine through the summer the past three years then the first or second week of school we both get sick again. We've both been coughing since the first week of school this year in 2016. It's now Feb 2017. She's brought 2-3 colds/illnesses home from school this year.

The coughing eventually goes away very slowly over several months. It can get better then worse then better again. I've noticed when the phlegm is "yellow and and heavier" antibiotics clear it up by 80-90% or completely or  to where the phlegm thins out and turns clear and we just have a slight cough. When it's thin and clear antibiotics don't seem to help. My daughter usually recovers faster over the years, unless I have antibiotics, then I usually recover faster.

I'm sick of being sick. It stops us from doing a lot of trips, activities and visiting family. I'm considering moving but that may not solve the issue. We vacationed in Orlando for 16 days for the Dec 2016-Jan 2017 winter holiday and stayed sick the whole time. We both got prednisolone the day we left home and we both got worse that week. I had extra antibiotics for my self and that cleared it up by 85%. I took my daughter to the ER in FL and told them antibiotics cleared mine up. The doctor there said antibiotics would not work (although they were working very well for me) and gave her an additional one-time dose steroid. She had just finished her prednisolone we got from our home PA. We both slowly improved but we're still both coughing some now Feb 20th. We're still seeing the same doctor or at least going to the same group of doctors. They all work for the same hospital/medical-facility. I developed a swollen saphenous vein in my right leg during our holiday trip which they have not figured out the cause for this either. It was swollen from thigh to foot but it has improved some, still somewhat swollen. The doctor thinks it may be arthritis related. Still doing test on that.

I don't expect an answer since we've been treated for three years by many doctors and PA's and not found an answer as yet. I think taking my daughter out of school would work but that doesn't seem like a good option. I can't do the job the school is doing with her education. Plus she needs the socialization skills. She loves school.